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Key Concepts

This page explains the core concepts in Pyra and how they relate to each other.

Organizations​

An organization is your business account in Pyra. It's the top-level container for everything — inventory, orders, storefronts, employees, and settings.

When you sign up, you create an organization. You can then invite team members to join your organization with different roles and permissions.

Key points:

  • Each organization has its own inventory, customers, and settings
  • Team members belong to one organization
  • Billing and subscription are managed at the organization level

Inventory items​

An inventory item represents something you rent out — a piece of equipment, a tool, a vehicle, or any physical asset.

Each item has:

  • Name and description — what it is
  • Pricing — daily, weekly, or monthly rates
  • Quantity — how many units you have (e.g., 5 identical generators)
  • Category — where it belongs in your catalog
  • Images — photos displayed on your storefront
  • Availability — Pyra tracks which units are booked and when

Categories​

Categories organize your inventory into a browsable structure. They work like folders — you can nest subcategories inside parent categories.

Example structure:

Heavy Equipment
├── Excavators
├── Loaders
└── Dump Trucks
Event Supplies
├── Tents
├── Tables & Chairs
└── Lighting

Categories appear on your storefront as navigation, making it easy for customers to find what they need. You can also apply pricing rules at the category level.

Storefronts​

A storefront is your customer-facing online store. It displays your inventory, handles availability checking, and processes checkout.

Each storefront has:

  • A unique URL (e.g., your-business.onpyra.com)
  • A customizable theme (colors, layout, branding)
  • Automatic inventory sync — items you add appear on the storefront
  • Built-in checkout with payment processing

You can customize your storefront using the theme editor, which lets you arrange sections, change colors, and add your branding without writing code.

Orders​

An order is created when a customer books one or more items for a rental period. Orders move through a lifecycle:

  1. Pending — order placed, awaiting confirmation
  2. Confirmed — you've accepted the order and reserved the inventory
  3. Active — the rental period has started, items are with the customer
  4. Returned — items have been returned and inspected
  5. Completed — order is finalized, payment settled

Each order includes:

  • The customer's information
  • Which items are being rented
  • The rental dates (start and end)
  • Pricing breakdown (including any rules or discounts applied)
  • Payment status

Bookings and availability​

When an order is confirmed, Pyra automatically reserves the inventory for those dates. This prevents double-booking — if all 5 of your generators are rented for next Tuesday, no one else can book a generator for that day.

Availability is checked in real time on your storefront. Customers see which items are available for their requested dates before they checkout.

Jobs​

A job is a scheduled task tied to an order — typically a delivery or pickup. Jobs appear on the Scheduling page and can be assigned to drivers or team members.

Jobs include:

  • The delivery/pickup address
  • The items being transported
  • The scheduled date and time window
  • Assignment to a team member

Use the Route Planner to organize multiple jobs into efficient daily routes.

Rules​

Rules let you automate pricing and business logic. Examples:

  • Pricing rules — weekly rate is 5x daily instead of 7x
  • Seasonal rules — higher rates during peak season
  • Customer rules — preferred pricing for specific accounts
  • Category rules — apply a rule to all items in a category

Rules are evaluated automatically at checkout. See Rules Management for setup instructions.

How it all fits together​

Organization
├── Inventory Items (organized by Categories)
├── Storefront (displays items, handles checkout)
├── Orders (created from storefront or manually)
│ └── Jobs (deliveries and pickups)
├── Customers (who place orders)
├── Rules (pricing and business logic)
└── Team Members (employees with roles)

A typical flow:

  1. You add inventory items and organize them into categories
  2. Your storefront displays the catalog to customers
  3. A customer browses, selects items and dates, and places an order
  4. You confirm the order — Pyra reserves the inventory
  5. You schedule a delivery job and assign it to a driver
  6. After the rental period, the customer returns the items
  7. You complete the order and settle payment